The Pros of Blogging {Blogging As A Business}

I bet you thought I was a total Negative Nancy by posting all about the Cons of Blogging and then left you hanging. You might be right. I AM a Negative Nancy but that doesn’t take away from the fact that when I step back and look objectively at being able to blog full-time I realize I am incredibly fortunate. Never in a million years did I expect to turn blogging into a living, but here I am. Sure, it has it’s tough moments but all-in-all the pros outweigh the cons.

I realize that some of the pros reflect both blogging as a business and also as a hobby. Before I start I want to clarify that I don’t think one is better than the other. For a long time blogging was a hobby for me too and I loved it as much then as I do now. The blog had changed quite a bit since making the transition from hobby to business, but my passion for it hasn’t. I love blogging. Here’s why:

1. The Community. Blogging would be nothing without this incredible community. My friends outside the blogging world don’t quite understand how I have friends all around the world who I speak to on a regular basis but those of you who are in it get it. Sure, the blogging community has it’s fair-share of drama but for the most part it is unbelievably supportive and loyal.

2. The Flexibility. I choose when I work and when I don’t. Ironically I find myself working harder and longer than in any other job I’ve had. Blogging full-time allows me to take a lunch break in the middle of the day to meet a friend for coffee but it can also mean working into the wee-hours of the night because there’s no one there telling you to go home. C forces me to shut down every night at 9:00 PM but if I had it my way I would probably work until 3:00 AM everyday.

3. I am My Own Boss. Turns out I’m a pretty self-motivated person. I have complete control of my schedule but also of my brand. Not only am I my own boss, but I am also head of content, marketing, accounting and craft services. So on some days I find myself on the phone with the CRA and other days I’m taste-testing cocktails at 1:00 PM. Of course I have to be weary of any moves I make because I am my own brand, but it also makes decision making easy because I do whatever my gut tells me to do.

I am the director, producer and actress of my own show!

4. I Set My Own Goals. As much as I am learning to enjoy the journey, I love a good challenge. What I felt was lacking in my previous jobs was precisely this. I never felt pushed beyond my boundaries or those boundaries were set by someone else. Blogging full-time means I get to decide which mountains I want to tackle and how quickly I want to push myself to get to the top of them. Some of these goals are a little crazy, like starting and publishing an ecookbook in 7 weeks. Others will happen in due time (hopefully!) like publishing a hardcover cookbook.

5. Learning is Endless. If you had asked me 3 years ago if I thought I would go back to school after undergrad I would have without a doubt said yes. Nowadays I don’t think I would. I always loved school because I loved to learn. In the last few years I’ve discovered that school is not necessary to learn. There is so much you can study and absorb outside the classroom. Every single day I learn something new whether it be in relation to blogging or social media, business and everything in between. I have also discovered how much I enjoy teaching, a position I never thought I would ever find myself in!

6. My Job is Mobile. I can work from anywhere! Well as long as there is WIFI. My daily commute is from my bedroom to my kitchen. Most of the time I find myself working right from my bed but should I want to get up and move to somewhere, I can. I’d love to live somewhere new someday. Those of you who know me well know exactly where I have my sights set 😉

7. I Have a Platform For Change. This is not something I anticipated when I started THM but the reality is that I have a platform to make my voice heard. Over 60k of you pass through each month and I want to ensure that everyone who does leaves here leaving empowered and uplifted. Whether it be helping you to make better food choices, encouraging you to get outside and get active or motivating you to make small changes in your blog or your career, I feel privileged to potentially play a small part in your journey.

8. Work Feels Like Play. “Choose a job you love and you will never have work a day in your life”. No one said it better than Confucius. I LOVE what I do and I’m fairly certain it shows to every person I interact with both virtually and in person. On my very first About Me page (it’s been updated several times since!) I wrote I would “like work to feel like play someday”. I could never in my wildest dreams guessed that it would happen so soon!

Want to learn more about blogging? Check out some other posts I’ve written on the topic!

Yes, I Blog Full-Time

The Cons of Blogging

Start Building Your Email Subscribers

Does work feel like play to you? What pros would you add to this list?

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Totally agree with everything you said. It’s a lot of work but if you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. And yeah, it’s great to work for yourself and be able to do it from anywhere but it’s absolutely hard sometimes to realize it is time to stop!

This was SUCH a great post and I agree with everything that you said girlfriend! I love the mobility and being able to work in my Pjs! I also find that I work longer and harder than any office job though…but it’s so fun that I totally don’t mind! So pumped that we are full timers together! 🙂

Yayyyy for the pros. I’d definitely have to agree that the pros outweigh the cons and, though I don’t blog full time ya know, it rarely feels like “work” because it’s fun. Time consuming, yes, but not work. And when you say you want to move you’re totally talking about Pittsburgh, right? 😉

This post is really everything great about blogging. The community you feel is crazy considering you make these connections before meeting people in person (if ever). It’s also nice to be ur rounded by like minded people in terms if health and fitness goals. I often so work late on the blog but it rarely ever feels like work :). Thanks for sharing this was great!

I think finding a job where work feels like play is my ultimate goal – fingers crossed it happens! (although with the move, just finding a job quickly in general would be pretty awesome). I seriously love the blogging community and being able to turn online friendships into real-life friendships…speaking of which, I’ll see you this afternoon! 😀

Great post!! I do love that blogging does NOT feel like a job–which is the best. I totally agree-if you can make money doing something you love, you’ve got it all!
Fun to see your blogging pics, shows your personality even more! Keep it upppp!

Loving it, lady! The biggest pros for me are definitely being able to set my own hours and be my own boss… but those just happen to be some of the biggest cons as well 😆 I hear ya about working into the wee hours of the morning and having a hard time NOT working. I always feel weird telling people what I do for work because it honestly doesn’t feel like work to me. Love that you’ve been seeing so much success 🙂

I’ve literally sent that same picture to my snapchat friends (sans puppy) because, when I’m not in the kitchen, I’m working from bed LOL. So glad I’m not the only one.
Most times, blogging is a crazy-fun challenge for me and I forget that it’s supposed to be a (part-time) job but other times – like this week when I had to move, apartment hunt, move again and help with first year orientation stuff – I just wish I could request vacation time from blogging 😐

Being a full-time blogger is a total dream for me, so you sharing a glimpse of what your day is like is super fun for me! I love and completely agree with all the pros you listed, especially the community aspect of it!

Just like your cons of blogging post, I couldn’t agree more with every one of these! Being your own boss rocks, especially because you have the amazing opportunity to go with your gut whenever decisions need to be made, and that’s one of my favorite things about blogging. It’s also scary to be totally in charge of your own brand! If you make a poor move, you are the only one left to clean it up. At the end of the day we are so lucky that our work = our play. Annndd I wanna know where you have your sights set to live!! Is it LA?!? I’d be so happy. Or maybe we should both just move back to NYC…

Love this post!!! I don’t know how you were able to articulate everything I feel, but you did. You’re right… sometimes it’s hard to unplug and stop working. However, I never have the passion in my “real” job as I have with my blog. Hopefully, some day my blog will be my “real” job. 😉

The blogging community. It’s just wonderful!! We’re all so supportive of each other and I don’t even know if I would still be blogging if it wasn’t for them! Love all your reasons! Wherever your dream place to live is, make it happen girl! It sounds like you totally will make it happen too 😉 You totally leave an imprint on readers. Which is why I follow your blog! Not just because your another blogger! Have a great day, Davida!

ummmmm work currently does not feel like play lol. it will someday.
you already know the deets about the brand i want to make. i think that that journey will (hopefully) be the most fulfilling thing i ever do. i love blogging and want to incorporate it into that biz, but i also want to step up my own blog game. 🙂 people like you inspire me! xo

The last one is my favorite!!! We tell our boys all the time that the most important thing when picking a career/job/whatever they do is that they should love it!!! So important!!!
You are definitely an inspiration to many!!!

Love your remark about wanting to work until 3AM, I’m the same way. My other half is like Ok time to get off the computer.. and I’m like NO! MUST MAKE POST! MUST COMMENT! MUST TWEET! Sometimes it’s so hard to get off!

I’m so proud of you Davida! You’ve really been shining lately and you’ve definitely inspired me to take it up a notch! I would love to chat with you sometime if you time? I’d like to know some more specifics on doing this full time.

Haha we’re on the same page today thanks to my absentmindedness, and I love it! I also love what you said about using blogging to learn!! That is so true. I definitely consider myself a lifelong learner as well, and I hope to have a job in the future where I can continue to do that.

YUP, loving all of the pros that you listed and totally agree with each one. Besides blogging and freelancing as side jobs, I also work from home full-time for my PR job, and the flexibility and mobility of it is so fabulous! I just booked a flight to see my family for 2+ weeks next month, but I have to take virtually no days of work off because I can work from anywhereeeee (with WiFi as you mentioned). I alternate between my office, kitchen table, kitchen breakfast bar, and living room couch as work spaces 🙂

I couldn’t agree more on the flexibility and the fact that you can do it on the go (editing, writing, sharing anyways) And the community is huge! I don’t think I would blog if there wasn’t community. In fact, I know I wouldn’t. Excellent list and all spot on! PS <3 your pants SO much.

AHAHAHAHA my work does not feel like play. But you know what? One day it will. When we are neighbors in SF, just cooking and drinking wine all day and planning our next adventured, preferably which we are being paid to take. loveee you xoxo.

It’s so funny reading this post after I saw you yesterday (oops, I’m a bit behind in my blog reading!) because I feel like we talked about so many of these points! You know I agree with you about loving the blog community. 😉

[…] {Blogging As A Business} The Pros of Blogging via The Healthy Maven – All of these are spot on. I especially loved the point about always learning new things as a blogger. It really is challenging & probably one of the many reasons I love it. […]

I have loved following your journey to full-time blogger, and I have to say all of these pros make it sound very appealing. During one of my bi-monthly career meltdowns, someone once asked me what I REALLY wanted to do. My response? “I just want to be in charge.” So yeah, we have that in common. Sadly I can’t imagine the blog ever being that for me, but someday maybe I’ll work my way up there doing something or another.

How am I this far back in your blog? For real, either I am seriously behind or you post too much. Obviously the answer is somewhere in the middle because I refuse to take totally responsibility for this mess. Still want me organizing your life? Ha.

I’m happy to see this post: the pros of blogging full time. I think there is a flip side to every coin and we need to make sure the sexy side of the coin wins more often than not. That probably didn’t make much sense, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.